Environmental reports

Sector Manager Kristin Aitken from our Local Government team delves into some of the terms used by councils and experts in their efforts to address the effects of climate change. She also takes a look at what councils are already doing, and what they need to consider for their next long-term plans.

June 2019: This report looks at how two groups used two different processes that generated advice to Ministers for establishing marine protection, including marine reserves. Each group used a process that was different in terms of its origin, purpose, scope, and expected outcomes. We examined how inclusive, transparent, and well informed the processes were to identify lessons that could be applied to support the establishment of other marine protection measures.

December 2018: We looked at how Dunedin City Council, Porirua City Council, and Thames-Coromandel District Council manage their stormwater systems to protect people and their property from the effects of flooding.

December 2018: Protecting and conserving marine ecosystems while balancing competing interest groups in the Hauraki Gulf is challenging. We looked at a project aiming to create New Zealand's first marine spatial plan, which would create a healthy, productive, and sustainable future for the Gulf...

September 2018: We audited three district councils (Horowhenua District Council, Kāpiti Coast District Council, and Manawatu District Council) and one city council (Palmerston North City Council) to understand the challenges they face in supplying drinking water to their communities. We looked at what these four councils are doing to influence demand for drinking water and whether they are taking an integrated approach, using financial and non-financial methods.

March 2016: We assess the Department of Conservation’s progress in implementing our recommendations from our 2012 report, in which we looked at how well it was working with other agencies and groups to manage biodiversity.

October 2015: Our follow-up audit this year reviewed what progress the Ministry for Primary Industries has made to address the recommendations in our 2013 report. We found that the Ministry has made good progress with how it prepares for, and responds to, biosecurity incursions.

February 2013: We are concerned that the Ministry is under-prepared for future biosecurity incursions. Responding to incursions has taken precedence over preparing for the potential arrival of other pests and diseases. Although the Ministry is making improvements, there is still a lot to do...

December 2012: Findings of a performance audit that examined how well the Department of Conservation is prioritising work, and working in partnership with other agencies and groups to manage biodiversity.

September 2011: We carried out an audit to provide an independent view of how effectively four selected regional councils are managing and controlling land use and related activities for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing freshwater quality in their regions...

August 2011: This document informs public entities and their auditors about how the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) operates and how it is likely to affect them. It summarises information about the ETS that we have gathered from the Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Ministry of Economic Development…

August 2011: A letter from the Auditor-General to the Chief Executives of Auckland Council and Watercare Services Limited on governance issues and a report on our initial findings and recommendations for Watercare to consider when developing its long-term plans for asset management and for funding arrangements...

December 2009: We have concluded that the councillors have breached section 6(1) of the Local Authorities (Members’ Interests) Act 1968. However, we have decided that a prosecution would be unlikely to result in a conviction and that it would not be appropriate in these circumstances to seek to have the councillors prosecuted...

April 2007: All territorial authorities must adopt a waste management plan. In this audit, we checked whether all had done so, and whether six were implementing them. Some of the plans were out of date or did not contain all the information we expected...

May 2006: The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry identifies, inspects, and manages the decontamination of sea containers that pose the highest biosecurity risks. The Ministry is responsive to emerging risks. However, the Ministry has had more than 2 years to implement a revised Import Health Standard for sea containers, but it is not yet fully in place...

May 2006: The Department of Conservation is responsible for managing 8.5 million hectares of publicly owned land. We expected the Department, which manages nearly a third of New Zealand’s total land area, to have a very clear idea about what it was doing with the land...

June 2005: This report examined how well the Ministry had implemented 7 recommendations we made in 1999. The Ministry has made progress in implementing most of those recommendations, but further improvements can be made. Accordingly, this report makes 4 additional recommendations...

May 2005: This report looks at how the Resource Management Act 1991 framework has been implemented by the Horizons Regional Council and the Otago Regional Council for the management of freshwater in their regions...

February 2005: In 2002, we reported on the administration of the Conservation Services Programme by the Department of Conservation. We went back to the Department of Conservation, and the Ministry of Fisheries, to see what progress had been made in implementing our recommendations...

December 2002: We conducted this inquiry as a result of a complaint from a body that represents the interests of its shareholding fishing companies and associations. The complaint was supported by specific case studies illustrating the body’s concerns about the way that the Department of Conservation manages the Conservation Services Programme...